In-Person Scouting Notes: Ole Miss, Mississippi State
Scouting notes on Matthew Murrell, Cameron Matthews, Jaemyn Brakefield and more from this past weekend's game between Ole Miss and Mississippi State.
I did something different than usual on Saturday, traveling to Oxford to watch (my alma mater) Ole Miss play against rival Mississippi State. I have a larger piece on why I chose to go to that game, which will come out soon. However, I wanted to give myself a context switch and scout a college game.
It also helps that it was my first chance to attend an Ole Miss basketball game since I was a student back in 2019. Unfortunately, the Rebels didn’t pull it out. Frankly, Mississippi State played with more force — primarily on the offensive glass and with creating live-ball turnovers — and the possessions advantage led to a disappointing loss at home.
I had some notes on a few graduates that’ll likely be pursuing their professional hoops dreams this summer, and on a some players I’m watching going forward.
Matthew Murrell
6’4”, 200 pounds, Guard, Graduate Senior
Murrell is in an interesting boat from a NBA positional projection standpoint: he’s definitely a 2-guard, but doesn’t possess the height to bump up to the 3, or the ball-handling to be a real combo guard.
Liked his effort as a committee rebounder.
Had an off-shooting night from 3 (0-3), and it shows his inconsistent shooting in his collegiate career.
Aggressive defender that can guard any perimeter position, while seeking defensive events into cycles.
If he shoots well in the combine and in pre-draft workouts, it wouldn’t shock me if he received a two-way contract.
Cameron Matthews
6’7”, 235 pounds, Forward, Graduate Senior
Matthews is a forward that’s built like a truck — listed at 6’7”, 235 pounds.
He’s a physical defender with great anticipation to create defensive events
Malleable forward capable of defending out on the perimeter, taking on switches, and holding down the interior as an anchor or low-man
Good feel on the offensive end as a passer and driver. Often used in Delay to connect actions together
Had too many moments where he just doesn’t look into the basket, even when he’s within the paint.
Absolute non-shooter. Ultimately may hurt his NBA projection, as he’s not big enough to be a 5 but may not offer the requisite floor spacing to be a wing/forward.
Nonetheless, his defense and physicality may be worth a two-way contract next season while his shooting develops.
Jaemyn Brakefield
6’8”, 216 pounds, Big, Graduate Senior
Quirky lefty forward capable of putting the ball on the deck
Had several “million dollar plays with 10 cent finishes” — often was caught finishing below the rim, unideal for his size
Ole Miss uses him spaced out on the perimeter, where he can leverage his floor spacing to put the ball on the deck — a big advantage creation element
Unsure of his defensive role — doesn’t offer much rim protection, may need more strength for the 5, only does fine on the perimeter
Worth a Portsmith invite and should be an Exhibit-10 guy. G League caters his skillset as a dribble-pass-shoot tweener big
Other Notes
KeShawn Murphy, 6’10”, 245 pounds, Junior, Foward . He’s a lanky forward for Mississippi State, who’s an interesting two-way player to monitor for the remainder of the season into next year. He’s an efficient finisher inside, but he’s not a floor spacer. Made some good reads out of the post. Because of his length, he leveraged it to create stocks and cycle opportunities. However, he’s not entirely switchable and needs to add strength to be a combo big.
Malik Dia — 6’9”, 240 pounds, Junior, Big. Struggled against Mississippi State’s physicality. Has skill level to put the ball on the deck, but was pretty . Made some good plays defensively, mainly in rotation. Ultimately, Mississippi State made sure his impact was minimal.
Sean Padulla, 6’1”, 190 pounds, Senior, Guard. Quintessential college guard with perimeter juice as a scorer, shooter, and ball-handler. Plays with moxie. Pretty small defensively without solid point of attack defense. Fun guard for the Rebels.
Eduardo Klafke, 6’5”, 195 pounds, Wing, Freshman . Klafke was relied upon to bring the energy off the bench. Thought his defense was good, especially in help. Offensively, his negatives outweighed the positives defensively. He dribbled the ball off his foot on a wide open paint, then later missed 2 free throws. Later, he went for a rebound that popped out of his hands and went into the basket — a summation of this game for the Rebels. More to come, but I remain bullish on his projection in the long-run.
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